Fish Out Of Water (MakoHaru Merman AU)
by StarPrince.Punk
Summary: Haruka Nanase always thought he belonged in the sea more than the did on land. He wanted to be free in the water forever. And he knew he could, because there were creatures that could do it. He'd seen them. He'd seen mermaids.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Haruka Nanase always thought he belonged in the sea more than the did on land. The water welcomed him. He felt the water surround him, accept him, as he swam through it. The high school third year thought of it as home.

On land, Haru didn't have many friends. Only a few here and there in his classes at school. None of them were close to him.

The water was his friend.

Every pool, indoor or outdoor, whatever the temperature, Haru would swim. He swam to feel the water with his skin and soul.

Since he swam all the time, he was an expert. He was extremely fast. Teachers and peers told him he should swim competitively. But Haru had no interest.

He wanted to swim free.

When applications for future careers were passed around to the students to fill out, Haru wrote just that.

"Free."

He wanted to be free in the water forever.

And he knew he could, because there were creatures that could do it.

He'd seen them.

He'd seen mermaids.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Haru had never told anyone of that day. The day he met a mermaid.

Or rather, a mer _man_.

He knew no one would believe him. And he was always so quiet anyway that there was really no point or purpose to.

The merman was his little secret.

It happened when he was in elementary school, around 8 years old. It was early April, and it wasn't too warm yet, but Haru wanted to swim anyway. He went to the beach. No one else was there because of the temperature. He stripped down to his swimsuit and ran into the water. He swam and swam, feeling the bliss of the water against his fingertips, of the currents through his hair, he wanted to drive deeper and deeper, but he always needed to come up for air.

When he got tired, he hopped up onto a rock face on the shore. The sun was setting, and it's beautiful colors melted into the sea. The water was so calm, endless, no breaks or ripples, just one infinite ocean.

Until something caught Haru's eyes. What he thought was a rock peaking on the water's surface seemed to move. He looked at it and it sunk under the water.

"Hello?" The young Haru called out, "Is anyone there?"

His response was nothing but the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.

It was many minutes until Haru called again. "Hello?" He shouted, "In the water, is someone there?"

Again, nothing but the ocean's waves. A seagull cawed. After another long while of waited it cawed again.

"It's ok to come out!" Haru then called out for the third time. Why was he doing this? He didn't know. He never spoke this much. He never spoke this loud. But something about that thing in the sea, the water, his true home, he knew he must know what it is he saw.

That's when the mysterious creature reappeared. The top of its head surfaced, closer than it did before, and Haru saw that brown hair covered it.

It rose up more, and Haru saw that it had skin. It rose more and revealed pure, green eyes, a gentle smile, and a child's body, around the same age as Haru. It didn't rise past its chest.

"Hello," it, no, _he_ said.

"H-hello," Haru reverted back to his barely-talking self.

"My name's Makoto. What's yours?" The boy in the water asked.

"H-Haru."

"That's a nice-"

"How did you hold your breath for so long?" Haru cut Makoto off.

Makoto tilted his head to the side. "Hold my breath?" He asked confused. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! No no no, it's not like that. You see I, I-" he put his hands on the rock Haru was sitting on and pulled himself up. This revealed his lower body.

Haru's gasped in surprise.

Down past his waist, instead of legs and feet, Makoto had a large, green fish tail with fins. It was covered in shiny scales and reflected the sunset's beautiful colors onto it. It splashed against the water's surface as Makoto pulled himself onto the rock to sit next to Haru.

"I'm a merman," Makoto said.

Haru stared in shock.

This was it.

This was what he wanted.

His love for swimming, his feeling of home in the water, it all made sense.

Mermaids were real.

And Haru needed to be one of them.

Makoto filled the silence of Haru's speechlessness, "I was watching you swim. You're amazing! Especially for a human-"

"How can I become a merman?" Haru asked very seriously, cutting Makoto off again.

Makoto stopped talking suddenly, then laughed. "What do you mean?"

"I want to swim underwater forever," Haru said, "I want to be a merman."

Makoto stopped laughing. "I see," he said, "I thought as much, just by seeing your love for swimming right now."

The two were quiet for a moment.

"I don't know how to turn a human into a mermaid," Makoto stated finally, "I don't even know if it's possible." He smiled, "But either way, I'd love for us to be friends!"

Haru's eyes widened, "F-friends?"

"Yeah!" Makoto said excitedly, "We could swim together here everyday! It'll be fun! I mean," he got quieter, "I'm not really supposed to talk to humans. It's against the law for mermaids, at least the ones from where I live."

Again the two fell silent, the crashing of the ocean's waves seeming to sound louder to fill the gap.

"Ok," Haru said finally.

"Ok what?" Makoto said confused.

"Ok we can be friends," Haru clarified.

Makoto's face lit up. "Yay! Thank you Haru! Haru-chan!" His little arms hugged Haru tightly, "We'll be best friends!"

"H-Haru _-chan_?" Haru stuttered.

Day after day they met at the beach and swam together. They swam for hours and hours, until the sunset painted the ocean's surface with it's pretty colors.

Sometimes, Makoto brought his other merman friends with him to swim with Haru. Haru was unsure at first, but he eventually grew to like them too. They're names were Nagisa and Rin. Nagisa had yellow hair and a pinkish tail. Rin had red hair and a red tail, and shark teeth. While these friends came often, most times only Haru and Makoto swam, with no one else, alone together.

This went on for months. Summer heated the waters, and soon it was Fall, and the waters cooled again. Yet Haru kept coming to the ocean to swim with Makoto. They became best friends.

But one day in September, Makoto didn't come.

He didn't come the next day.

Or the next day.

Or the next.

Haru came to check everyday, and Makoto didn't come. He's stay until sunset, swimming, waiting for him.

But nobody came.

A week past, and Makoto didn't show up once.

The next week, Haru still showed up to look for him.

Still no sign of him.

On a day during the second week, Haru decided that this was his last day to check for him. It was getting cold anyway. He'd swim in the indoor pool instead.

But without a friend, what would it be worth?

But, miraculously, on that last day, Makoto showed up.

"Haru!" Makoto shouted as he saw him, "Haru-chan!"

"Makoto!" Haru called out and ran into the ocean.

They swam around each other. They swam like Makoto had never been missing. Haru didn't ask any questions. He didn't want to know. He just wanted to swim with his best friend.

It went by so fast, that day. Soon the sun was setting yet again. Haru and Makoto climbed onto the rock face that they first met on. They both laid down next to each other for a long while, surrounded by the beautiful, calm sounds of the ocean.

"Haru," Makoto said, "I, I need to tell you something."

Haru was silent, as always.

"Haru," Makoto sighed, "I, I, I-" He started tearing up. He sat up and put his head in his hands. Haru sat up as well and stared in wide-eyed shock.

Makoto was crying.

"I," Makoto tried to continue his sentence, "I got caught! I got caught coming up here to swim with you!"

Haru held his breath. No. This couldn't be.

"They're not letting me come up to the surface again," Makoto was crying harder, "I was detained in a Juvenal cell. My trial was yesterday and they said I was guilty. Today's my last day being free."

Haru gasped. "What does that mean? What going to happen to you?"

"None of the city guards with let me out of the city. I'll be stuck there. No more open sea for me," Makoto looked out into the beautiful, endless ocean, smiling weakly. "I'll still be able to live a normal life in my city, but I won't be able to see you." He still had some tears, but they were silent. "The sentence is 10 years."

"Ten years?!" Haru shouted. He was angry. No one would take his best friend away from him.

No one would take Makoto away from him.

"It's not as bad as I thought," Makoto tried to laugh, but only somewhat succeeded, "Probably because I'm a kid. It's usually life in prison."

"What?!" Haru's jaw dropped, "I, I had know idea it was that serious."

"Oh yeah, it is," Makoto sighed, "It's a huge thing down there, in the city."

Silence. Ocean sound-filled silence once again. Maybe their last time sitting in silence together, listened to the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.

"I just don't understand why!" Makoto cries suddenly, "I mean, you're just like me! Almost _exactly_ like me! We swim just as good, just as fast, sometimes you're even faster!"

Haru kept quiet. "I don't understand either," he said after a while.

Again, they sat in ocean sound-filled silence.

"I guess this is goodbye then," Makoto said, looking into Haru's deep blue eyes.

Haru stiffened. "No. It can't."

"I know. I feel the same way."

"Maybe we'll meet again? After 10 years?"

Makoto's eyes widened, "You think you'll still remember me in 10 years?"

"Of course!" Haru said a little loud than his usual low volume, "You'll, you'll remember me, right?"

Makoto smiled wide, "Yes! Of course Haru-chan!" He hugged the black-haired boy.

Haru hesitated to hug back. Hugging isn't really his thing, but he hugged Makoto anyway, "Don't call me chan," he mumbled.

Makoto laughed, "We'll meet here! At this spot! In 10 years!"

"But we'll be adults by then," Haru said, "If they catch you, you might get out in jail for life, like you said!"

"I don't care!" Makoto said forcefully.

Haru froze. Makoto cared that much.

"I want to see you again," he said.

Haru nodded.

"What day is it today, in your human calendar?" Makoto asked.

"September 18th," Haru answered.

"Ok!" Makoto smiled, "You better be here 10 years from now!"

"I will!" Haru said, "You will too!"

Makoto nodded. He looked at the sun. It was almost fully gone. The moon was coming up behind them. "I-I should go back, before it gets dark. Who knows what they'll do if they catch me here again."

"Yes, of course," Haru said.

They stared at each other. They didn't want to say goodbye.

"See you soon!" Makoto said and pushed himself into the water.

"Yeah," Haru said, holding back tears of his own.

He saw Makoto swim away. Then he suddenly remembered something, "Makoto!" He called out.

"Yes Haru-chan!" Makoto called back.

"Find a way to turn me into a merman!"

Mako froze, then smiled and laughed, "I'll try, Haru-chan!"

"I said don't call me chan!" Haru called. He heard Makoto laughing in the distance before he dove under the night sky-dyed water.

And that was the last day Haru ever saw him.

Until today.

Haru had probably checked the calendered in his schoolbook about a million times. Just to see if it was really true.

It was 10 years later.

It was September 18th.


End file.
